Because I am!

I’ve never attended the Penny Arcade Expo before, but everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but good things to say about the Seattle-based fan-tailored convention.

It’s been a summer full of events, and based on how fun (and insane) Comic-Con was, I’m looking forward to something that isn’t press-centric. PAX isn’t about me; it’s about you.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t come along for the ride. And if you’re going, let me tell you about a little panel I’ll be a part of…

From 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. on Saturday in the Raven Theater, me, Chris Kohler of Wired/Game|Life (he’s the one who put this together), former 1UP artist Karen Chu and The Onion/X-Play’s Gus Mastrapa will around to discuss the topic of “Game Criticism And Old Game Journalism.”

“Being a “game reviewer” is impossible, so why bother? No approach to game criticism can please everyone, but a panel of experts will discuss ways to avoid losing your mind when you’re writing and critiquing games.”

Yes, readers, I am an expert! — whatever that means. Either way, if you’re somehow not attending the Penny Arcade live comic drawing or watching Harmonix talk about their company’s history — aka some of the biggest panels at PAX — you should come by, listen up and ask some questions. Hopefully, a few kids decide to show up. If not, we can always pack up and check out the Penny Arcade panel! I kid, I kid!

I must admit that I’m geekishly looking forward to the nighttime concerts the most. The OneUps, Freezepop and Jonathan Coulton all in one night? Be still, my nerdy heart. There should also be a fair amount of games there, as well. Valve should be showing off the Xbox 360 version of “Left 4 Dead,” and I’m anxious to have more hands-on time with “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.” Will it have the recently revealed Joker? Hope so!

If you’re going to be at PAX, feel fee to bother me and say hi. I love meeting readers of the site. Luckily, it’s not hard to spot me. Just look for the pasty white kid with a wannabe afro updating his Twitter account frantically from an iPhone. That describes most of what I’m doing roughly 90% of the time.

Are you going to PAX? If you’ve attended before, feel free to drop some recommendations on what to check out in the comments.

Related Posts
Direct From SF: Seeing ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ In One Man’s Art
Direct From SF: Snaps From ‘America’s Army’ Protest
Direct From … San Diego: Comic-Con Is The New E3

***

Have a hot tip? Is there a topic that Multiplayer should be covering and isn’t? Will you be at PAX? Drop me an e-mail.